US Navy SEAL kept unauthorised picture of Osama bin Laden's corpse

A report in the United States has stated that a former US Navy SEAL who shot and killed al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden kept an unauthorised picture of Laden's corpse.

The former US special forces soldier Matthew Bissonnette who rose to popularity after writing the best-selling book No Easy Day handed over a computer hard drive recently which contained a picture of Osama bin Laden.

The author who wrote a book on the firsthand account of the secret US operation to kill Laden in 2011,  handed over the hard drive as a part of a deal with US investigators in order to refrain from prosecution. The al-Qaeda leader was shot and killed in May 2011 by US troops in Abbotabad, Pakistan. 

Pictures of Laden's burial at sea were taken, however the Obama administration had not allowed any other groups to procure them, an English daily reported.

 Images of the burial at sea, along with other pictures of the corpse were taken, but the Obama administration has resisted all efforts by the Associated Press and other groups to obtain them.

An email from Rear Adm Charles Gaouette read, "Traditional procedures for Islamic burial was followed. The deceased's body was washed then placed in a white sheet. The body was placed in a weighted bag. A military officer read prepared religious remarks, which were translated into Arabic by a native speaker. After the words were complete, the body was placed on a prepared flat board, tipped up, whereupon the deceased's body slid into the sea."